Publications - Stress

Every year, 46 million Americans deal with mental illness. Only 41% get help. Here's how you can., by Amy Chillag, CNN, Jun 12 2019.

“An estimated 46 million American adults experience mental illness in a given year but only 41% get help for it, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The problems range from depression and anxiety to substance abuse. ”

Warning Sign of Mental Illness, by Ranna Parekh, M.D, M.P.H, American Psychiatric Association, May 2019.

“Learning about developing symptoms, or early warning signs, and taking action can help. Early intervention can help reduce the severity of an illness. It may even be possible to delay or prevent a major mental illness altogether ”

Mental Health Screening Tools, by Theresa Nguyen, Mental Health America, May 2019.

“Taking a mental health screening is one of the quickest and easiest ways to determine whether you are experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition. Mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, are real, common and treatable. And recovery is possible. ”

What is cognitive behavioral therapy and how does it work?, by Sarah DiGiuli, NBC News, Apr 29 2019.

“The American Psychological Association (APA) recognizes CBT as one of the most effective forms of psychological therapy and psychiatric medications. And based on the evidence proving it works when it comes to managing anxiety disorders, bulimia, insomnia, personality disorders, stress management, and more, CBT is considered the gold-standard of psychotherapies in the field. CBT aims to uncover unhelpful or problematic ways of thinking in order to change unwanted or unhealthy behaviors. ”

Even with insurance, getting mental health treatment is a struggle in Mass., study says, by Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, Dec 11 2018.

“Massachusetts residents who need health care are colliding with a hard reality: Having medical insurance doesn’t guarantee you can get treatment, particularly for psychiatric problems. More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston...The obstacle wasn’t a lack of insurance; the vast majority of patients were insured. Rather, the problem was that providers either did not accept their insurance or their practices were closed to new patients. ”

States may now broaden mental health treatment under Medicaid, by Michael Nedelman, CNN, Nov 13 2018.

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may now allow for states to pursue Medicaid reimbursements for short-term inpatient treatment in mental health facilities despite a decades-old exclusion, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday. In a letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS detailed a new Medicaid waiver opportunity through which states may bypass longstanding reimbursement restrictions on inpatient psychiatric treatment, which apply to mental health facilities with more than 16 beds. Azar said the original policy has posed a "significant barrier" to people getting the treatments they need. ”

How to Help Teenagers Embrace Stress, by Lisa Damour, New York Times, Sep 19 2018.

“Now that the school year is in full swing, many young people are feeling the weight of academic demands. But how much strain students experience may depend less on their workloads and more on how they think about the very nature of stress. Stress doesn’t deserve its bad rap. Psychologists agree that while chronic or traumatic stress can be toxic, garden-variety stress — such as the kind that comes with taking a big test — is typically a normal and healthy part of life...According to Jeremy P. Jamieson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester who studies how stress impacts emotions and performance, 'Avoiding stress doesn’t work and is often not possible. To achieve and grow, we have to get outside our comfort zones and approach challenges.' ”

Survey: 1 in 5 College Students Stressed, Considers Suicide, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Sep 11 2018.

“A new survey reveals that while college years may be a time of excitement and optimism they are also often stressful. And, the stress is accompanied by increased mental health diagnoses and the risk of suicide or suicidal thoughts. Brigham and Women’s hospital investigators queried more than 67,000 college students from across more than 100 institutions and found that while racial/ethnic, sexual or gender minorities are especially vulnerable, high rates for stress events, mental health diagnoses and the risk of suicide were reported among all students surveyed. ”

Study Finds Disrupted Stress Response in Schizophrenia Patients, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jul 12 2018.

“A new Canadian study published in the journal Brain shows that stress tends to impact the brain and body differently in schizophrenia patients than in healthy people or even in those at high risk for developing psychosis. 'We found a disrupted stress response in people with schizophrenia, which did not occur in either healthy individuals or people at clinical high risk for developing psychosis,' said lead author Dr. Christin Schifani from the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Since most schizophrenia patients experience psychosis, identifying differences between those at high risk for psychosis and those with schizophrenia may shed light on how the mental illness develops and ways to prevent its onset. ”

U.S. Suicide Rates Are Rising Faster Among Women Than Men, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jun 14 2018.

“The number of people dying by suicide in the United States has risen by about 30 percent in the past two decades. And while the majority of suicide-related deaths today are among boys and men, a study published Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics finds that the number of girls and women taking their own lives is rising...when Hedegaard and her colleagues compared the rise in the rates of death by suicide from 2000 to 2016, the increase was significantly larger for females — increasing by 21 percent for boys and men, compared with 50 percent for girls and women...The biggest change was seen among women in late middle age. 'For females between the ages of 45 and 64, the suicide rate increased by 60 percent,' she says. 'That's a pretty large increase in a relatively short period of time.' ”

Losing a spouse late in life linked to cognitive decline, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Apr 20 2018.

“Older adults who lose a spouse may be more vulnerable to cognitive decline in subsequent years and require extra support and monitoring, researchers say. In the study of nearly 7,000 middle aged and older men and women, cognitive functioning declined over time for everyone, but it degraded slightly more and slightly faster for those who had been widowed, regardless of whether they remarried. ”

Childhood `toxic stress’ leads to parenting challenges later on, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Mar 21 2018.

“Parents who endured “toxic stress” during childhood may be more likely to have kids with developmental delays and have a harder time coping with their children’s health issues, new research suggests. Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, or suffering from sexual, physical or emotional abuse...One reason may be that mothers who experience more adversity in childhood have more health risks during pregnancy and, in turn, have babies with a greater risk of developmental problems, Madigan and colleagues report in one of three papers on the topic published this week in Pediatrics. ”

Perfectionism May Undermine Mental Health of Youth, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Jan 3 2018.

“New research suggests the desire to be perfect in body, mind, and career may be taking a toll on college students’ mental health...This study is the first to examine group generational differences in perfectionism, according to lead author Thomas Curran, Ph.D., of the University of Bath. He and his co-author Andrew Hill, Ph.D., of York St. John University suggest that perfectionism entails 'an irrational desire to achieve along with being overly critical of oneself and others...'The rise in perfectionism among millennials is being driven by a number of factors, according to Curran. One relatively new factor involves exposure to social media; data suggests social media may pressure young adult to excessively compare themselves to others, which makes them dissatisfied with their bodies and increases social isolation.   ”

Teens’ Poor Body Image Tied to More Drinking, Smoking, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Jun 22 2017.

“New research finds that the way a teen feels about their appearance can significantly impact their health and wellness...The finding supports prior work that discovered people with negative body image are more likely to develop eating disorders and are more likely to suffer from depression and low self-esteem. ”

Exercise may stave off postpartum depression, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Jun 16 2017.

“Physical activity during and after pregnancy improves psychological wellbeing and may protect against postpartum depression, according to a new analysis of existing research. Even low-intensity exercise, such as walking with a baby stroller, was linked to a lower likelihood of depressive symptoms in new mothers, researchers found...Compared to women who didn’t exercise, those who did had lower scores on depression symptom tests during the postpartum period, the researchers found. The apparent benefit of having fewer depression symptoms was seen even among women who did not meet the cutoff for a depression diagnosis. ”